This research examines the extent to which individual-level and school structural variables are predictors of academic achievement among a sample of 10th-grade students abstracted from the National Educational Longitudinal Study database. A secondary analysis of the data produced the following findings. The study results show that individual-level predictors, such as student effort, parent—child discussion, and associations with positive peers, play a substantial role in increasing students' achievement. Furthermore, the results also suggest that school climate—in particular, the sense of school cohesion felt by students, teachers, and administrators—is important to successful student outcomes. In total, school structural characteristics were found to have relatively small effects on student achievement when compared with individual-level characteristics. Given these results, interventions aimed at improving academic achievement need take into consideration the impact of individual-level and school structural factors on students and their ability to succeed.
The research examining the correlates of academic achievement is immense. In particular, scores of studies have examined individual- and family-level variables that influence student achievement. Based upon Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological theory of human development, this study extends one step beyond previous studies and incorporates school-level characteristics into an investigation of the factors that influence adolescents' academic achievement. Using regression-based techniques that account for within-school clustering of students, this research examined the extent to which individual-level and school structural variables predict academic achievement among a sample of 10th grade African American students abstracted from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) database. The results suggest that individual-level predictors, such as student effort, parent-child discussion, and associations with positive peers, play a substantial role in increasing students' achievement. Further, the results also suggest that school climate, in particular the sense of school cohesion felt by students, teachers, and administrators, is important to successful student outcomes. Given these findings, the author suggests that an ecological approach which encompasses individual-, family-, and school-level variables be considered when examining predictors of academic achievement. Also, policy and interventions aimed at improving academic achievement need to take into consideration the impact of individual-level and school structural factors on students and their ability to succeed.
Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), path analytic procedures were performed to test an ecological model of the effects of family- and individual-level characteristics on the academic achievement of African American students. The study results show that several of the family influence variables directly or indirectly affected 12th-grade academic achievement. Furthermore, most of the individual influence variables were directly related to 12th-grade achievement. A surprising finding from this study was the nonsignificant effect of family income on 12th-grade achievement. Overall, the findings support the notion that family- and individual-level characteristics are important predictors of academic success among African American students.
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